Smoltz: Strasburg should fake injuries

[Guest]

We all know Stephen Strasburg isn't a fan of the innings limit the Nationals want to place on him, but TBS announcer and future Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz says Strasburg should fake an injury to make sure he can pitching in a pennant race.

On ESPN Radio, Smoltz had this to say (via the DC Sports Bog):

"Honestly, I know this is gonna sound … well, I'm a little bit different anyways," Smoltz began. "I'd create my own little gap. I'd have a blister one day, maybe a hangnail the next start. You know, I think there's ways to do it. And I get it -- their statement is every game counts. Well, it does, but it doesn't count as much as September.

"You're in your own division, you can either lengthen your gap or close the gap. And I just think that's gonna be hard to explain to 23, 24 other players, why this guy is going to [not pitch]."

Smoltz did say he understands the Nationals' reluctance to have Strasburg throw too many innings after Tommy John surgery, but had an alternate idea of what the Nationals could have done.

"I don't know that they thought they'd be in this position, if you knew you were gonna be in this position, you start him in May and let him pitch the rest of the year. But by starting him in the regular season right at the start, you've boxed yourself in now that you're in a [playoff] position, to try to explain why at the last part of the season you won't have your best pitcher pitching, or one of your best. …

"And I think that's gonna be the tough task. I argue just space it out, even from this point on. That's gonna be difficult because they've got a mandate, that's from the top. They're gonna stick to it. They make the decisions. It's gonna maker her interesting conversation down the stretch."

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/ey...-fake-injuries

I've said the same thing as Smoltz, they should have put him as the fifth starter and skip him until May, when most teams typically use their fifth starter on a regular basis. Oh well, what's done is done, and this is something many people will be watching.

[NAHSTE]

Maybe they should stop being fuckheads.

Or not, fine by me either way.

[Warner2BruceTD]

It is beyond my understanding why he was not the fifth starter out of the gate after the break. I think they have two off days, so between that and skipping him after the off days, they could have extended him into the first week of September or so.

I guess at the end of the day, every game is equal and maybe its better to just keep him on a normal schedule, but personally I would have spread him out as much as possible if lifting the limit was not an option.

[Rudi]

[Slateman]

It is beyond my understanding why he was not the fifth starter out of the gate after the break. I think they have two off days, so between that and skipping him after the off days, they could have extended him into the first week of September or so.

I guess at the end of the day, every game is equal and maybe its better to just keep him on a normal schedule, but personally I would have spread him out as much as possible if lifting the limit was not an option.

It really doesn't matter. The Nationals chances of making the playoffs are fading fast. Even if they make them, Strasburg won't be available to pitch in them. Just shut him down and start gearing up for next season.

[MVPete]

I would have to assume they are using the best course of action for his arm here otherwise they would of done something similar to what everyone is suggesting. He's too valuable to their future to do anything other than "by the book" for post TJ surgery.

[Slateman]

Wouldn't it be dangerous to stop him in the middle of the season, and then start him back up in like mid-September?

[Guest]

Wouldn't it be dangerous to stop him in the middle of the season, and then start him back up in like mid-September?

Only way I could see that working is still keep him as a middle reliever, where he could still get scheduled work. Even shutting him down for a month would require stretching his arm back out in the minors and going on what is essentially a rehab assignment.

Or, they could go with a sixth man rotation for a month or two, and skip Strasburg a couple times. That is the only way for it to work realistically.

[killgod]

in summary, the baseball season is too bloody long.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Wouldn't it be dangerous to stop him in the middle of the season, and then start him back up in like mid-September?

That would be the worst.

The only thing they could have done different was spread out the starts by skipping him whenever they had off days, pitch him last after the break, go 6-man when Wang was healthy, etc. Instead, they kept him on a normal schedule and just yanked him early in a few blowouts. You can make arguments for either curse of action.

[Glenbino]

If they're going to hold to the 160 inning limit they could always skip a start for him every 5th game and let him throw a simulated game instead IMO.

God help the Nats brass if he were to blow out his elbow again in a simulated game though.

[Slateman]

If they're going to hold to the 160 inning limit they could always skip a start for him every 5th game and let him throw a simulated game instead IMO.

God help the Nats brass if he were to blow out his elbow again in a simulated game though.

Wouldn't that essentially be the same thing? I mean, yes it'll be less stress, but it will still be work on his arm.

Bottom line is that they've committed to this innings limit. They are set up nicely to be a contender for the next 5 years, maybe more. Don't blow it now.

[Glenbino]

Wouldn't that essentially be the same thing? I mean, yes it'll be less stress, but it will still be work on his arm.

Bottom line is that they've committed to this innings limit. They are set up nicely to be a contender for the next 5 years, maybe more. Don't blow it now.

TBH I've never witnessed a simulated game personally.. But I would assume the team would have a lot more control about how many pitches he threw, what impact level he threw them at, etc. than they would in live action. If he can relieve a little bit of the violence from his throwing motion while still maintaining the muscle memory by performing the motion that could work, right?

WTF do I know though I'm just a guy who watches baseball. I'm just throwing shit against the wall here and seeing if anyone would be willing to validate it.

[Slateman]

TBH I've never witnessed a simulated game personally.. But I would assume the team would have a lot more control about how many pitches he threw, what impact level he threw them at, etc. than they would in live action. If he can relieve a little bit of the violence from his throwing motion while still maintaining the muscle memory by performing the motion that could work, right?

WTF do I know though I'm just a guy who watches baseball. I'm just throwing shit against the wall here and seeing if anyone would be willing to validate it.

Eh, a simulated game is like it sounds. Its basically a pitcher throwing to a catcher and the pitching coach watching, calling out different scenarios. They sit the pitcher down to simulate the breaks between innings and your team hitting, but still, it's throwing a baseball 75-100 times in a pitching motion. It may only be at 75% speed/effort, but it's still effort.

[Guest]

WASHINGTON -- The decision on whether the National League East-leading Washington Nationals will shut down prized starter Stephen Strasburg apparently has been made. The when is all that remains.

General manager Mike Rizzo told ESPN Wednesday that he alone will decide when Strasburg's 2012 All-Star season will end, and that it's not necessarily at the 160-inning mark that has been talked about so often.

Strasburg underwent reconstructive elbow tendon surgery (known more commonly as Tommy John surgery) toward the end of his 2010 rookie season. He managed to return toward the end of last season, and pitched in only 44 combined innings that included minor league rehabilitation outings.

"There is no magic number," Rizzo said. "It will be the eye test. (Manager) Davey (Johnson) won't decide and ownership won't decide. It will be the general manager, and that's me."

Strasburg is enjoying a spectacular first full season in the majors, with a 10-4 record and 2.66 ERA while leading the NL with 135 strikeouts.

With the Nationals 4½ games ahead of second-place Atlanta and the addition of a playoff spot in each league, it appears the District of Columbia might be able to enjoy its first postseason appearance since 1933, when the original Washington Senators (now the Twins) reached the World Series.

The starting pitching of Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler is acknowledged as the primary reason for the Nationals' sudden rise, but subtracting ace Strasburg down the stretch could significantly alter the makeup of the rotation -- especially in a five- or seven-game playoff series.

Nonetheless, Rizzo said he is looking out for the welfare of the right-hander, who will turn 24 Friday, as well as the long-term outlook of one of baseball's youngest rosters, one that appears set to make postseason runs for several years.

"When we signed Stephen I made a promise to him and to his parents that I would take care of him and that's what we are going to do," Rizzo said. "I told them we would always do what's best for him. This is a kid who has never pitched more than 123 innings in a year.

"We are looking at not only competing for the playoffs this season, but also in '13, '14, '15 and beyond. Stephen is a big part of those plans and I will not do anything that could potentially harm him down the road."

As for those thinking Strasburg could be given a few weeks or a month off, then return, Rizzo says don't count on that happening.

"When it happens, Stephen will not pitch again until spring training (in 2013)," he said. "We tried something similar with Zimmermann last year and he just could not get going again. We won't make the same mistake."

Zimmermann underwent similar surgery in 2010 and was shut down after 161 innings last year in late August. Of course, that decision wasn't met with nearly as much public debate as Strasburg's potential shutdown because the Nationals were buried deep in the NL East standings at the time.

"I'm not going to let anyone on any network or in any newspaper dictate what we should do as an organization," Rizzo said adamantly. "They're not the general manager of this club. I am."

For his part, Strasburg, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2009 draft out of San Diego State, said he will fight the decision, which has never been conveyed to him by any member of the Nationals staff.

"I said it recently, they'll have to rip the ball out of my hand," Strasburg said Wednesday night, "and I mean it."

Johnson and pitching coach Steve McCatty have been careful with Strasburg, who has logged 105 innings in 18 starts, an average of just under six innings per start. The rhetoric surrounding this decision, however, is sure to continue.

"We'll do it my way," Rizzo said. "I have the full support of ownership on this issue. It's my decision and I've made it. There will be no going back on the decision."

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/81...phen-strasburg